GLEN ROSE, Texas — The Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose offers guests the chance to drive their cars through its 1,800-acre wildlife conservation facility and see exotic animals up close and in person, all in an effort to, in the organization's own words, "inspire positive change in the way people think, feel and act with Nature."
Along a two-lane paved road that traverses the property, guests can observe species ranging from cheetahs and emus to bongos and rhinos – all up close and personal.
They can even feed the wildlife by tossing food pellets, which are provided free of charge by park staff, alongside their cars for the animals to eat.
Only the giraffes on property are allowed to be fed by hand, the center's website explicitly states.
"You are putting yourself, your passengers and your vehicle in danger if you hand feed any other animals," the Fossil Rim website reads. "Toss the feed away from your vehicle so animals are less likely to bump into it. Please set a good example for other guests."
Turns out, though, there's some danger in hand-feeding the giraffes as well.
Shortly after noon on Thursday, Granbury resident Kari Hill was visiting Fossil Rim with her 18-year-old son, her 15-year-old son and her 1-year-old granddaughter when a giraffe stopped by her car for a quick hello.
"We were stopped at the giraffe area when a giraffe came and stuck his head in the sunroof," Hill told WFAA. "All was great until he lost his balance and fell onto my windshield."
At that point, Hill said, the previously charming situation quickly became a scary one.
"[The windshield] started caving in while he was flailing, trying to get his footing back," Hill said. "We were covered in glass, and I thought it was about to turn very bad, but then the giraffe regained his footing and took off."
As the giraffe took off, so did Hill and her car.
"We pulled off and I made sure the kids got all the glass off of them and put everyone in the backseat while I called the parks emergency hotline to escort us out of there," she said. "My car had to be towed, and I had to file and insurance claim."
In a statement provided to WFAA on Friday, a Fossil Rim spokesperson called the situation "unfortunate." The spokesperson also note that they had never personally witnessed an issue like this one with the facility's giraffe's in the 11 years they've worked there.
What was most important, the spokesperson said, was that both Hill's family and the giraffe left the incident OK.
For her part, Hill is a little concerned that she didn't quite get her money's worth for the trip.
"I spent $89 on admission and we didn't even get a quarter of the way through [the facility]," Hill said.
In the meantime, she's waiting to see how her car insurance company replies to the report she's filed on the incident.
She said the park told her they are not responsible for the incident due to a statement customers sign before entering the facility that reads, "Fossil Rim Wildlife Center assumes no liability for damages to vehicles, people, or property as a result of any interactions with the animals and facilities."
"[It was] such a quick, freak accident," Hill said. "[I'm] glad it wasn't worse. Cars can be replaced. People can't."
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